Boston College coach Jerry York and players Bill Arnold, Patrick Brown and Johnny Gaudreau answered questions from the media after a 5-4 loss to Union, April 10, 2014, in the 2014 NCAA national semifinal game.

PHILADELPHIA — Union’s Matt Hatch talks about watching from the locker room after his game misconduct penalty, and goaltender Colin Stevens talks about the final seconds of a 5-4 victory over Boston College on Thursday at the Frozen Four.

PHILADELPHIA — Members of the USCHO staff give their thoughts and picks on Thursday’s Frozen Four semifinal games:

Boston College vs. Union, 5 p.m. EDT, ESPN2

Drew Claussen, Big Ten Columnist: 2014 is an even number; that means Boston College is going to advance to the final. BC is just too good for Union and I believe the Eagles will win convincingly. Boston College 4-1

Jim Connelly, Hockey East Columnist: Union will limit BC’s top line but as that line consistently does, they’ll still break through for two of three goals to propel the Eagles. Boston College 4-3

Dave Hendrickson, Hockey East Columnist: In this battle between the top two offensive teams in the country, BC’s unstoppable first line and stellar special teams make the difference. Boston College 5-4

Chris Lerch, Atlantic Hockey Columnist: I picked Union to win it all so I’m sticking with that. The Dutchmen have had success in making teams play into their system. If they can do that against Boston College — and I think they can — Union will come out on top. Union 3-2

Nate Owen, ECAC Hockey Columnist: The Dutchmen have a stout and active defensive unit, and I think that’s going to be the difference. Union 4-2

Matthew Semisch, NCHC Columnist: Union will have learned a few lessons from its first Frozen Four a couple years ago in Tampa and will give BC some issues, but I’m having difficulty seeing the Dutchmen contain Gaudreau, Hayes and Co. when the Eagles head into Union’s own end of the ice. Boston College 5-2

Paula C. Weston, Big Ten Columnist: The two top offenses meet in the early semifinal game, but I’m predicting a lower-scoring game based on their top-10 defenses. It’s an even year, so I’m going with BC. Boston College 2-1

Minnesota vs. North Dakota, 8:30 p.m. EDT, ESPN2

Drew Claussen: Like many other games between these teams, I assume this one will be close. It’ll be all about which goaltender plays better, and I think Adam Wilcox is ready to shine on a big stage. Minnesota 3-2

Jim Connelly: One of college hockey’s best rivalries will need overtime in this tight-checking matchup. North Dakota 3-2 (OT)

Chris Lerch: You can’t ask for a more entertaining matchup. North Dakota, the last team in the tournament, is trying to accomplish what Yale did last year and carry the momentum it had in the regionals into the Frozen Four. But the Gophers looked so dominant in St. Paul and are the more talented team. I’m picking skill over momentum and going with the Gophers. Minnesota 3-1

Nate Owen: Lots of big names on both sides, but I think this will come down to the goaltenders, where Minnesota has a slight edge with Adam Wilcox. Minnesota 3-2

Matthew Semisch: The Gophers are 3-1-1 in their last five games against UND, and Minnesota’s the better team on paper in this matchup. However, I’ve really liked the grit UND showed in the Midwest Regional despite being the underdog against both Wisconsin and Ferris State, and I think UND’s good for at least one more upset. North Dakota 2-1

Paula C. Weston: While I liked what I saw from North Dakota in Cincinnati, I think Minnesota’s speed will be the difference in this game. Minnesota 3-2

PHILADELPHIA — There are now three Division I men’s ice hockey programs in Pennsylvania: Mercyhurst, Penn State and Robert Morris. The D-I team closest to Philadelphia is Penn State, roughly 200 miles away; Robert Morris, near Pittsburgh, is 300 miles to the west, and Mercyhurst (Erie, Pa.) is another 100 miles farther away than that.

Even with no college hockey presence in the City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia has recently proven its ability to embrace the sport at the college level.

“I was just talking to [Vermont coach] Kevin Sneddon,” said Minnesota coach Don Lucia, “and he mentioned that Penn State played Vermont here and they had 17,000 people, but certainly I grew up watching plenty of pro hockey to know how big and how passionate the Flyer fans are.”

Lucia himself has a connection to the local NHL franchise. “Actually, I was drafted by the Flyers back in 1978,” said Lucia, “but like any good man, you have to know your limitations, so I got into coaching instead.”

The addition of the Penn State program at the start of the 2012-13 season forced the Big Ten to form a league of its own, a move that helped to shake up divisional alignment through much of college hockey. That development, however, is something that Lucia sees as positive for the sport as a whole, not just for the six teams that play in the Big Ten league.

“Any time you can add a brand school like Penn State, it’s good for college hockey,” said Lucia. “One of the things that’s unique about our sport is that we have Division I, Division II and Division III institutions. You see it here. Union is a Division III institution, but what makes our sport so great is that they all can compete on an equal footing. That doesn’t happen, really, in any other sport at the NCAA level.”

Lucia said that there were reservations that resulted from the realignment that created two new conferences and drastically changed the makeup of a third.

“Some different conferences were formed and there’s a lot of angst,” said Lucia, “but I think this year proved that the WCHA that remained was a very good conference, a very competitive conference with like schools. The new NCHC is an outstanding conference with for the most part Division I and I-AA institutions.

PHILADELPHIA — From the start of the 2013-14 season, Minnesota coach Don Lucia cautioned that this year’s Golden Gophers squad was different from what fans had seen previously.

“When the year was beginning, we knew we obviously had to replace a lot of talent, including three defensemen,” said Lucia. “We knew Kyle [Rau] was going to have to move from wing to center. So we had a lot of question marks on how the puzzle was going to be pieced together.”

There was no question, however, about who would man the Minnesota net. Sophomore goaltender Adam Wilcox returned to follow up an outstanding rookie year with a season that earned him Big Ten player and goaltender of the year honors. His performance (1.89 GAA, .934 save percentage) helped the young Gophers team as it matured.

“It was great knowing that we had a solid foundation to build off of,” said senior co-captain Nate Condon. “We do have a young team, so it’s hard for guys to step in and play right away. I think maybe that helped some of our freshmen defensemen really get in the hang of things, maybe some of the older guys finding new roles on the team.”

“I think the biggest thing about having Adam in net,” said senior co-captain Kyle Rau, “is he lets everyone relax a little bit. If you make a mistake, you know Adam’s going to bail you out nine times out of 10, so it helps everybody play loose, especially the younger guys.”

Lucia called Wilcox’s presence in net “comforting,” and said that the sophomore helped as the underclassmen learned their defensive game.

“What Adam allowed us to do and what I think most about Adam as a goaltender is he makes the big save at a critical point of a game,” said Lucia. “If it’s tied in the third, he makes a big save to keep it tied to allow us to get the game winner. If we’re ahead by a goal, he makes a critical save with five minutes to go to allow us to win a game.

“I think that, more than anything else, is what Adam has been able to do for this team and the consistency. I look at Adam and he probably had one game he was a little bit off, and that was a UMD game back in November.”

That was Minnesota’s 6-2 loss to Minnesota-Duluth on Nov. 24, a game in which Wilcox surrendered five goals.

“Other than that,” said Lucia, “for the most part, he’s going to give up one or two goals a night. If we get to three goals, most nights we’re going to win.”